Bridges on Proverbs 11:3-7
 
 
Charles Bridges on Proverbs 11:3-7
 
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3.  The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. 4.  Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. 5.  The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. {direct: Heb. rectify} 6.  The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. 7.  When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
 
Integrity or righteousness is a most valuable guide in all perplexities. (Matthew 6:22.) The single desire to know the will of God, only that we may do it (Psalm 143:10), will always bring light upon our path. It is also a covert from many dreaded evils. “God is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. Who therefore is he that will harm you, it ye be followers of that which is good?” (1 Peter 3:13.) Let the Christian “stand, having on the breast-plate of righteousness; and that wicked one toucheth him not.” (Ephesians 6:14. 1 John 5:18.) Often indeed does it deliver from temporal, always from eternal, death. “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved. In the pathway thereof there is no death. If a man keep my sayings, he shall never see — never taste of — death.” (Genesis 7:1; 2 Kings 20:3-6. John 8:51.)
The perverseness, that neglects this godly principle, is the sinner's own snare and destruction. (Chapter 28:18. John 8:51. Ezra 18:27.) And when the day of wrath cometh — as come it will — “a great ransom will not deliver.” (Deuteronomy 1:43, 44. Numbers 22:32. Isaiah 1:28. Ezra 9:9, 10. Hosea 14:9.) Riches will profit nothing (Job 36:18, 19); not even will they obtain “a drop of water to cool the tormented tongue.” (Luke 16:19-24.) In vain will “the rich men of the earth” seek a shelter from “the wrath of the Lamb.” (Revelation 6:15-17.) They and their hopes will perish together. ‘They were not living, but lying hopes, and dying hopes.’ What a contrast to that “hope, which is as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil!”
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Matthew 6:22
22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
 
 
Psalm 143:10
10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
 
 
1 Peter 3:13
13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
 
 
Ephesians 6:14
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
 
1 John 5:18
18 ¶ We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. {is born: Gr. has been born}
 
 
Genesis 7:1
1 ¶ And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
 
2 Kings 20:3-6
3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. {sore: Heb. with a great weeping} 4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying, {court: or, city} 5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD. 6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
 
John 8:51
51 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
 
 
Proverbs 28:18
18 ¶ Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
 
John 8:51
51 ¶ Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
 
Ezekiel 18:27
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
 
 
Deuteronomy 1:43, 44
43 So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the hill. {went...: Heb. ye were presumptuous, and went up} 44 And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
 
Numbers 22:32
32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: {to...: Heb. to be an adversary unto thee}
 
Isaiah 1:28
28 And the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed. {destruction: Heb. breaking}
 
Ezra 9:9, 10.
9 For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. {to repair: Heb. to set up} 10 And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
 
Hosea 14:9.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Job 36:18, 19
18 Because there is wrath, beware lest he take thee away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. {deliver...: Heb. turn thee aside} 19 Will he esteem thy riches? no, not gold, nor all the forces of strength.
 
 
Luke 16:19-24
19 ¶ There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
 
 
Revelation 6:15-17
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
 
 
Footnote:
Chapter 10:28. Job 8:13, 14; 11:20; 18:14-18. Psalm 49:17, 18; 146:4. One of Bunyan's graphical and accurate sketches represents Ignorance ferried over the river by one Vain Hope, ascending the hill alone, without encouragement, and ultimately bound and carried away. ‘Then I saw’ — adds he with fearful solemnity — ‘that there was a way to Hell, even from the gates of Heaven!’
 

 
Proverbs 10:28
28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
 
Job 8:13, 14
13 So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: 14 Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. {web: Heb. house}
 
Job 11:20
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost. {they shall...: Heb. flight shall perish from them} {the giving...: or, a puff of breath}
 
Job 18:14-18
14 His confidence shall be rooted out of his tabernacle, and it shall bring him to the king of terrors. 15 It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his: brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. 16 His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off. 17 His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. 18 He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. {He...: Heb. They shall drive him}
 
Psalm 49:17, 18
17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. 18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself. {while...: Heb. in his life}
 
Psalm 146:4
4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Footnote:
Leighton on 1 Peter 1:3.
 

 
1 Peter 1:3
3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, {abundant: Gr. much}
 
 
Footnote:
Hebrews 6:19. Does not this verse prove the knowledge of a future state; since, as respects this life, the expectation of the righteous — alike with that of the wicked — perisheth? Compare 1 Corinthians 15:19.
 

 
Hebrews 6:19
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
 
1 Corinthians 15:19
19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.